Son of the Hunter
by ScribblingBear
Summary: There are very few challenges a Monster Hunter cannot overcome. They travel harsh terrain, battle against hunger and thirst, and fend off deadly beasts that threaten the world. One hunter, however, will learn that difficult challenges can come from very unexpected places.
1. Chapter 1

**Son of the Hunter**

Chapter 1: The Son

A calm spring afternoon. A large tree with a picnic blanket and a nice variety of food on it. A beautiful, slender woman sat with a large, rugged man, and their young son sat between them. Immediately, I recognized the child as myself. That's how I knew this wouldn't end well. I should've been used to it by that point. This scene had played over and over again, but it didn't get any easier to watch, especially with what happened this time.

My parents and I were enjoying ourselves. We laughed, ate, my dad roughhoused with me while mom egged him on. Then the sky began to go dark. Dad set me beneath the tree, and both he and my mom stood up. They walked off, promising they would return, though I knew they wouldn't. They then disappeared into the dark mist that had enveloped the area, which was where things usually ended, but not tonight.

Two screams. The first a female cry, piercing and bone-chilling. The second a man's cry that sent chills up the spine and struck fear into my heart. Finally, a paralyzing, horrific roar that jerked me from my sleep. Were anyone in my house, they'd have heard my own loud scream, come running to my bedroom, and seen the tears falling down my face.

Ever since I lost my parents, nightmares like that visited me regularly. It didn't help that I, myself, was a hunter, but I wasn't about to let the family tradition die. The nightmares always seemed to end at the same time, too; looking out the window showed a very early sunrise, and my clocked showed me that it was four thirty-two in the morning. I had sat up in my bed after waking up, but I fell back into my pillow when I saw the time. My eyes slowly closed again, but didn't stay that way for long.

My phone began buzzing on my bedside table, and despite how much I didn't want to, I answered it. Before I could even say "hello", the deep voice of my best friend, Wes, sounded from the other end.

"Yo, Adam, you up?"

"Nope. This is the Ghost of Christmas Past answering Adam Delvin's cell phone."

"Haha, very funny. I know it's early, but we need to get our asses over to the Lodge. We've been called for an assignment."

"Oh joy. What for?"

"Nothing too major, just a Lagombi that's been hanging around one of the Walls a bit too much."

I signed and nodded, even though he wasn't here to actually see it. "Alright, I'll meet you there."

"See ya."

He hung up with an audible beep, and I followed suit. I usually had the clothes I planned to wear the next day out on my couch before I went to bed, and today was no different. A pair of jeans, my favorite white Okami shirt, and my trademark, a flannel shirt. Wes teased me for owning at least ten of them, but I really liked the look.

I didn't bother making my bed, I just grabbed my phone, glasses, and house keys off the bedside table and took off. Near my door was a small hook, upon which was hanging a pendant in the shape of a wolf's head; my dad's armor charm. I grabbed it and set it around my neck before leaving; I never left home without it.

Once I was out of my room, it was down the hall and to the right to get to the kitchen. Wes was probably already at the Lodge, so I just opened a cabinet and grabbed a granola bar, and got a bottle of Faygo out of the fridge. My last stop was what I referred to as the back room. It was a den-like room where I kept my weapons and any special armors. I tied my boots on, grabbed my True Yokumo Longsword, locked the door behind me after I walked out, and headed down to the Lodge.

Virginia always had pretty comfortable climates, and while I was used to the weather in Georgia, I wasn't about to complain about the cool Virginia Beach morning. I walked along the boardwalk, munching on my admittedly paltry breakfast, when I heard faint shouting that began to grow louder and louder.

"Hey, dude with the sword! Wait up, man!" I turned to my left to find the source of the voice; a small redheaded girl sporting a simple black t-shirt and denim shorts. She kind of looked me over for a second after catching up with me, and that's when I noticed something odd; her eyes were yellow, and I was pretty sure that wasn't a natural eye color in people.

She then backed up just a little and nodded. "I take it you're a Hunter, considering that weapon on your back?"

I returned her nod, turning back towards my destination. "I am. Uh, I hate to be rude, but I'm also in a hurry."

As I began walking, the girl just came up beside me and matched my pace. "That's fine! We can talk while we walk."

I let out a sigh. I had gotten a good enough look at the girl; she was slender with well-developed curves, and her hair came down to her shoulders. Not only that, but her voice was soft and very cute. As dumb as it probably seemed to her, I had to look away to keep from getting nervous.

She gave me a nudge and giggled. "You okay, bud? You seem kinda off."

I just nodded and kept looking forward. "Fine. Don't worry."

"Hm… sorry, not buying it. You're gonna have to try harder."

After clearing my throat and trying to think of a way not to sound like a complete dork, I came to the conclusion that there was no way to do so and still be honest. "Sorry, I just… don't really talk to many girls."

She simply giggled again and playfully hit my shoulder. "Well, you're talking to one now. My name's Nymira, nice to meet you."

I bit my lip and tried to keep my focus. Being around cute girls always made me a nervous wreck, and Nymira had already picked up on that. "…Adam."

A quick glance showed me that Nymira's eyebrows were turned up, and she had one of those worried smiles on her face. "Hey, you gonna be alright? You really don't seem comfortable right now."

"I'm fine. It's cool, don't worry."

She let out a sigh, patting my shoulder. "Look, I can see how uncomfortable you are from miles away. It's okay, I can work with this though."

Her words caught my attention, causing me to turn to her. "Um, excuse me?"

Without even acknowledging my question, she turned away momentarily before turning back to me. "Look, I gotta go, but I'll talk to you again, soon. See ya later."

Before I could even say anything else, Nymira was off. I paused for just a moment before sighing. I was paying so little attention to my surroundings that I didn't even notice that I was standing before the massive, log cabin-like building before me. A few windows were on either side of the large door, and above it was a big sign that read "The Lodge" in fancy calligraphy.

I opened the door and was immediately greeted by the muscular, dark form of my friend, Wes. I took the hand that he thrust in front of me and shook with a smile on my face. He looked so much neater than me already; dreadlock ponytail, bowgun on his back, Wroggi armor already on save for the cap, and a wide grin on his face. He was good foot taller than me, too.

"Wow, I really am late. Did you have time to finish a watermelon while you waited?"

Wes let out a hardy laugh and patted my shoulder. "Oh I get it, just because I'm black, you assume I eat watermelon for breakfast!"

All I did was shrug, but eventually I chuckled. "Maybe."

He laughed again and walked with me to the front counter, where the secretary handed me the mission file. "So, what took you so long, man?"

I paused for a moment. Telling him about Nymira might not have been a good idea. It wasn't often girls approached me, so I wasn't too certain Wes would believe me. Regardless, I wasn't too keen on lying, either.

"I know this is gonna sound like a load of shit, but some girl held me up. She randomly just called to me and started talking."

All Wes did was raise one brow. "And?"

"Well, she didn't stay long. She just asked me about my comfort level in regards to being approached and then said she'd talk to me again soon. You know a girl named Nymira?"

He lifted a bulky arm and rubbed his chin. "Hm, not off the top of my head, no. But hey, let's not waste time. We can talk about this on the way."

I gave him a nod, skimmed over the file, and handed it back to the secretary. She had already had my alloy armor brought out to the lobby, so I got into it and waited for the secretary to prepare the Wall. A door next to the counter slid open, and behind it was a bright purple portal.

The secretary adjusted her glasses, turned to us, and nodded. "Standard equipment for this mission. You're going to the tundra, so there's a share of Hot Drinks for you, as well as some rations, first aid kits, your map, and paintballs. I know Lagombis aren't exactly a challenge, but still, be careful."

We both gave her a nod, but Wes spoke up before me. "You know we will."

She smiled and nodded in response. "Good luck."

Wes went through first, and I followed quickly after. We closed our eyes to shield ourselves from the bright light that usually accompanied the movement between worlds. Upon opening our eyes, we were still caught off guard by the bright white that surrounded us. Snowy hills and plains greeted us on all sides, save for our right, where a chilling river carried chunks of ice down a waterfall.

A small, bipedal cat greeted us and motioned forward, pointing out the bed not too far away. It had an awning hung over it to keep the snow off of it, and next to the large bed were two boxes, one red and one blue. Beside the boxes was a cooking spit pole, which my friend picked up and latched onto his back. Wes and I had done this plenty of times before, so we knew how this worked.

The big guy walked over and opened the blue box, handing me two first aid meds, a map, two small whetstones for sharpening my weapon, two rations, two Hot Drinks, and two paintballs. Once I had my supplies, he took what was left. There were two walkie-talkie like devices in the box, but not only did they have speakers, they had large screens that displayed a map of the area. Wes and I had done challenges where we navigated without the map, but not this time.

I gave him a smile as I hooked the map onto my belt and downed one of the rations. It was standard practice for us to wolf one of them down before a fight. "What ammo are you packing?"

He grinned and took the massive Tigrex Howl off his back. "I brought plenty of fire shells. That Lagombi ain't gonna last if I get a few good shots in. He's usually in Areas Three, Two, or Six."

I checked my map, giving him a nod. Going directly north took us to Area One of this place. West of that was Area Three, northwest was Area Two, and east was Area Six. Given the fact that I had a plan for how to navigate, I gave Wes a nudge.

"Last one to find him buys lunch?"

My friend paused for a short moment before letting out a hard laugh. "You're on, bud!"

He held his hand to me and I gave it a shake. "You take Three. I'll take Two, and if neither of us finds him, we'll meet up at Six. Deal?"

Wes rubbed his chin, probably just for suspense, before giving a nod. "Deal."

After each of us downed a Hot Drink to keep the cold from bothering us, we took off to our respective areas. We had to keep an eye on our maps; there were indicators with our names on the side of the screen that would show the other if we got spotted. Not only that, but we had little health bars; it was a funny way to keep track of our limits and how much abuse we could take. I wished many a time that these devices could do the same for enemies. It always seemed like things were tougher in this world; you couldn't just chop something's head off, you had to wail on it a lot first.

As we went into Area One, we stopped so a herd of Popo could pass through. I'd hunted many of these mammoth monsters for a good meal, but we decided to pass them up this time. My friend made his way into Area Three, and I hustled my way to Two. The terrain was awkward to navigate; this tundra was a series of open areas connected by caverns and valleys formed through or between giant glacial structures, and sometimes those valleys and caverns got very small and cramped. Such is the life of a Hunter.

I checked my map as I got into my destination, squatting down so the beefy, boar-like Bullfango wouldn't chase and attack me. Wes still hadn't gotten spotted, so I pressed the button on the side of the map to talk to him.

"Anything yet?"

"No giant bunnies sighted. How's life in Area Two?"

"Nothing but bacon."

I could hear his laugh on the other end of the device, and couldn't help chuckling myself. "A'ight, Adam, meet you in Area Six, then."

"See ya then. Don't be slow."

Looking at the map again showed that two large caves, Areas Four and Seven, stood between Wes and Area Six. However, I only had to go through Seven. I mean, Area Two did connect to Area Four as well, but hey, I wasn't about to pass up free lunch. I immediately headed to the northernmost section of the area, which took me to the mouth of the cave that was Area Seven.

Darting inside the cave, I noticed it was completely empty. Honestly, I was happy not to have been assaulted by three or more Baggis for once. They were the worst raptors in all of Teios. Their absence also meant an even quicker trip to Area Six, so I decided to get a bit cocky and take a leisurely stroll through the cave. Once I was out, I was in Area Six; a wide open space of nothing but thick snow and a single pine tree.

Sure enough, the giant white rabbit was wandering around near said tree. With a grin, I grabbed my map, pressed the button, and proclaimed my victory.

"Found it."

I heard a "Damn" as I set the map back on my belt and grabbed a paintball from one of my pouches. I made sure to keep my distance from the beast, even as I chucked the paintball at him; the impact would alert him to my presence, but I'd still have enough time to get a preemptive strike.

Once he was marked, I charged forward and unsheathed my blade in a powerful downward strike to his side. Lagombi recoiled from the hit, but immediately swiped at me with one of his front claws. The hit sent me flying into the tree, and the monster reared up to strike again before I could get up. However, the attack never came.

A loud shot rang out, and it appeared as if the rabbit's face had exploded. Lagombi drew away, giving me time to look to my left and see Wes readying another shot.

"You won the race and I still gotta save your ass! You sure you deserve free lunch?"

I started laughing, but Lagombi charged at Wes before I could respond. I ran at it, but Wes slammed another shot into its face, causing it to fall over. With it struggling to stand back up, both of us took the opportunity to get some good hits in. I managed to get about five strong swings in, but it still wasn't enough for me to ready up my longsword's power.

Lagombi backed up just a little, but then spun around in an attempt to hit us back, but we both saw it coming and backed off. With it on its feet and me on mine, it was now my job to keep the monster away from Wes so he could keep pelting it. I liked to think I did a good job of it, too; the rabbit beast only managed to hit me one other time, and that was after I had hit it enough to feel my longsword resonate. Sadly, I couldn't act on it, as Wes' blast to the Lagombi's face took it down.

Putting his bowgun away, my friend threw his fist in the air and hollered. "Woo! Man, easy fights are the best, yeah?"

He laughed as I stood up and brushed the snow off myself. "Yeah, such fun. Very wow. But hey, we got us a nice meal here."

Wes nodded in agreement and we both drew our carving knives. We cut out the good, edible parts of the beast's meat, and each cut a section of pelt as well. They actually sold for a decent price in Keios markets, so it was worth it. Once we both had carved what we wanted, Wes skewered the meat on the pole he brought with him. I grabbed the other end and helped him carry the meat back to the starting area.

It was clearly too large for us to carry back, so we wrapped up our respective shares and set them in the red box for delivery to our homes. After another hand shake, we walked through the portal back to the Lodge. The secretary congratulated us once we were on the other side, stamped our contract with the "completed" stamp, and took our armor back for repairs and storage. One of these days I plan on asking why we couldn't just take our armor home, considering we spent our own money to make it.

A quick glance at my phone told me it was now seven fifteen in the morning. After getting an idea, I judged Wes' arm with a chuckle.

"I may not have earned a free lunch, but how about coffee?"

My friend let out another hardy laugh; it seemed like that was his default reaction to things. "A'ight, that I can do." He then looked as his phone and nudged me back. "Hey, it's Saturday, so Sarah's working. You want to go to her café?"

He laughed again when I groaned. "You know damn well that's not why I made this suggestion." I then put my hands in my pockets and made for the door.

Wes followed behind me, giving me a pat on the back. "Ah, come on, man, I was just messing with you. I really just like that place's drinks. And hey, Sarah already knows what we get, so that's an added bonus."

I just rolled my eyes and turned in the direction of Honey Drop, my and Wes' favorite place to get coffee and breakfast. It was a decent walk, but we made it there before eight. It was a part of one of the numerous strip malls along the beach's boardwalk, and one of the smaller ones, as well. Being on the corner, and one of the few brown buildings on the entire strip made it easy to spot.

A young woman stood behind the counter, preparing the various machines needed to fill the many orders that would come throughout the day. However, as we opened the door and she heard that welcome bell, she turned to us with a bright smile on her face. The glare from her glasses kept us from seeing her eyes, but her shoulder-length blonde hair with the red streaks stood out amongst all the grey and black behind her, verifying for us that it was indeed Sarah.

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite guys! Y'all look like y'all had fun. What are the both of you doing up so early?"

Wes always amazed me. I had even finished forming a sentence in my head by the time he was getting his out.

"Just finished a nice hunt. I may or may not have lost a bet and now owe your eyesight buddy here a free drink." He laughed and patted my back once before approaching the counter and seating himself. "Besides, Adam couldn't wait to see you again."

The big guy turned to me, chuckling when he saw how red I was. Sarah giggled to herself before nudging Wes. "Come on, don't tease him, Wes. Look at how flustered he is. Be nice."

She motioned for me to sit. Though I eventually did, my gaze stayed on the floor the entire way there. I took a quick glance up to see where Sarah was, lifting my head when I saw she was looking away.

"I take it you two will be getting your usual?"

I had expected Wes to answer, but after a moment of silence, I noticed he was waiting for me to talk. Jerk. "Y-Yeah. Same as always."

Sarah gave us a nod and went to work flipping switches, pulling levers, and pushing buttons. I heard some voices in the back as well; it was nice to know the baristas weren't forced to work alone. For some reason, looking at Sarah made me think of Nymira, and her last words to me kept echoing in my mind. That is, until a decent push brought me back to reality.

"Ey, earth to Adam, I'm talking to you, pal!"

Wes thumped my shoulder again, finally getting my attention. "Sorry… my mind isn't here, I guess."

"I could tell. I was just asking if you wanted to join me, my sister, and my brother after this. We're taking a bike ride."

I shook my head, nodding to Sarah as she handed me my cup. "I wish I could, but I already made plans. Sorry, Wes, I'm heading up to the fitness center."

All he did was shrug. "It's cool, man. A hunter's gotta stay in shape, I ain't gonna fault you. By the offer's always open if you change your mind. We're leaving at around eight, but we'll be on the park trails, so you can meet us any time."

"I'll remember that. Thanks."

He gave a nod before downing the large cup Sarah handed him. How this guy's throat didn't have severe burns was a mystery for the ages. Wes opened his wallet and set a 20 dollar bill on the counter before standing up.

"I know it's a lot, Sarah, but keep the change. You earned it. I gotta get going, so I'll see you both around."

I waved at him as he walked out, looking away a little as Sarah took the cash and stashed it away in a register. "He's learning. He left before I even had a chance to argue with him."

As much as I wanted to say something, I kind of just stirred a straw around in my cup. I finally turned my attention to Sarah when she set a lid before me on the counter. "You okay, Adam? You look a little down. Before you asked what tipped me off, you didn't offer your mason jar. That… and the constant distant looks."

"I guess. Just… thinking about stuff." My friend put her hands on my hips, and she didn't even need to tell me to elaborate. "Some girl randomly came up to me on my way to the Lodge. All she did was point out how awkward I was, and then said we'd meet again before taking off. I'm just not sure what to make of it."

She held a hand against her chin, propping up the arm with her other hand. "Hm, that does seem strange. Did you get her name? Do you remember anything about her?"

I set the lid on my coffee and took a sip before responding. "She said her name was Nymira. She was… around your height. Waist length red hair." Her yellow eyes were something I had to pause and think about before bringing up. I mean, who would honestly believe that? "She also had… bright yellow eyes."

Hearing this, Sarah clapped and nodded happily. "Oh yeah! She came in here about an hour ago, just asking about the town and stuff. She was really sweet, but she left before I could do anything but answer her questions. I'm sorry Adam, but I don't know where she went."

She looked a little disappointed, but I just shrugged. "No worries, I… I'm just gonna go. I do have somewhere to be, so… yeah."

My friend sighed softly, grabbing a rag and wiping the counter off as I picked up my cup and stood. "Okay, see ya later."

"Yeah, later."

I got home at around eight twelve, which left me a little less than two hours before I needed to be at the fitness center. After I walked through the front door, I went to the backroom to hang my sword back up. On a desk nearby the weapon rack sat a picture of me and my parents, and I couldn't help but just… gaze at it.

"So is that your family? My condolences."

Anyone else who was there would've thought I was a Scooby Doo character with the way I jumped. Immediately turning around, I had to take off my glasses and wipe them to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

A young woman in a flowery, short, blue dress stood before me. Her shimmering, blue hair came down to her waist, and translucent butterfly wings extended out of her back. She let out a giggle when she saw my face, leaning forward to tap my forehead.

"Hello, anyone home? You there, dude?"

After coming to my senses, I still couldn't manage to say much. "Uh… who… what?"

She let out a sigh and curled her lip. "What, are you saying you don't recognize me? Don't you remember this pretty face?"

"Wait." My eyes widened when I got a look at hers. Bright. Yellow. Eyes. "No."

She nodded and gave me a pat on the back. "It's Nymira, from this morning! Told you we'd meet again!"

I immediately shook my head and crossed my arms. "Now hold up a second. I don't remember you having blue hair or wings. You playing dress up or something?"

Her hand smacked her forehead almost instantly after I said that. "For someone who has literally seen another world entirely, you don't think about fantasy that much. I'm a fairy, Adam. A love fairy, to be exact. We're attracted to strong feelings of loneliness, and I have to be honest, you seem pretty lonely."

I just tilted my head, my arms still crossed. "Love fairy? So… what exactly are you here to do?"

Nymira crossed her legs, still floating in midair as she cleared her throat. "What else? I'm gonna take the nervous wreck that is Adam Delvin and turn you into a walking chick magnet! We're gonna score you so many broads that you won't even know what to do with them!"

"Score broads? You make it sound so… methodic."

She gave me a "Mhm" and closed her eyes. "I'm gonna get you introduced to a bunch of girls and get you so many dates that you'll have to hire an agent!"

"That… sounds terrible, in all honesty."

The fairly let out the loudest groan I'd ever heard after I said that. "See, that's what you need to change. I saw just how freaked out you were around me earlier. You're a nervous wreck around girls, dude."

Now it was my turn to groan. "That may be, but that's not the poi—"

Before I could even finish, she cut me off. "So come on! I've already done some scouting around the area, and I found a lot of potential girls for you to get with."

This time I turned away from her, heading towards my living room. I could see her following me in the reflection of my glasses, turning around and holding my hand out.

"Look, whatever it is you're doing, stop. I may be lonely, but I don't need to be surrounded by women to make myself feel better. First off, I'm not really looking to date right now, and second off, I'm a one woman man."

All she did in response was shrug. "I can respect that. The fact remains that you suck at talking to the ladies."

"Nymira, I have somewhere to be, soon. Can we do this later?"

Right after I asked, she began shaking her head. "How long ya got?"

"About an hour and fifty minutes."

"Perfect. Pack your shit, you and I are going on a date right now."

At this point, I threw my hands up and let out a loud sigh. "Okay, okay, okay, slow down." Seeing as how the kitchen and dining room was between the back room and my living room, I simply pulled out a stool from the counter in the kitchen and sat. Nymira quickly sat next to me, propping her head on her hand. "Now explain to me exactly what in the world is happening."

The fairy took a deep breath and lifted her head up. "I am a love fairy. We're attracted to strong feelings of loneliness, and our goal is to hopefully get rid of those feelings. I can tell that losing your parents has left you empty, and my hope is that I can at least ease that pain, alright? It's the wish of all love fairies."

She paused and gave me a slightly concerned look, but continued when she saw me nod. "I approached you this morning to gauge your communication skills and, to be quite honest, they're very lackluster. I took a look around your house to get a feel for the kind of person you were, and then went scouting around for possible girls that would make a good match for you."

Again, I found myself crossing my arms. "So you're not only some kind of matchmaker, you're also a trespasser?"

Nymira's mouth slowly morphed into the straightest, most perfect line I'd ever seen. "You'd be surprised what you can learn about someone by looking through their home. You like video games, your parents are dead and you miss them terribly, you're a Monster Hunter, you value your friendship with the big black guy greatly, you like to collect things, you have poor eyesight, you have some kind of workout routine, and you have a strange affinity for flannel shirts and mason jars."

Once she was done I just sort of… paused. Everything she said, while very condensed, was all true. "And you learned all of this… just by poking around in my house?"

She gave a nod and a satisfied "Mhm". "Pretty impressive, huh? I like to do my research. I'm actually competing with a friend of mine; she has a perfect track record for these things."

Now my mouth was the one that was a perfect, straight line, as were my brows, probably. "Oh, I get it. I'm just a contest, is that right?"

I must have freaked her out, because she began shaking her head furiously. "No, no, no, it's not like that! I really do want to help, believe me."

"Uh huh. Look, I really don't need your help, okay? I'll be fine on my own."

She stuck her tongue out at me. How mature. "Right. So then how many dates have you actually been on?"

I began rubbing my chin, trying to think of answers that wouldn't completely invalidate my previous statement. "Uh… define 'date'."

I could see the effort on her face as she tried to keep from laughing. "Oh. Wow. This is worse than I thought. Alright, that settles it. Pack up, Adam, we're going on a date right now."

"You're joking, right?"

Nymira stood and gave me a good thwack over the head. "I said 'right now', as in 'let's get going'!"

"You're going out looking like that?"

She shook her head, snapped her fingers, and was soon drowned in a flash of blue light. Once I had my sight back, Nymira was sporting the same look she had when I first met her.

"We fairies can change our appearance to anything we want at any time. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, time to go. We're heading back to that café and I'm going to show you the ropes."

I barely even had time to groan before the fairy grabbed my arm, promptly leading me out of my house.


	2. Chapter 2

**Son of the Hunter**

Chapter 2:

For such a small girl, Nymira certainly was strong. She managed to pull me all the way from my house to the Honey Drop without letting up or stopping to rest at all. The entire experience made me very glad that fairies weren't a monster in Teios that we had to hunt.

Sarah was still behind the counter when we walked in, but now she was accompanied by at least two other baristas. She smiled at the both of us as Nymira came up to her, chuckling when she saw the vice grip the fairy had on my arm.

"I would congratulate you on finding your friend, Adam, but it looks like she found you!"

Both of the girls started laughing, leaving me to just sigh and reevaluate my life. Suddenly I was jerked to the side as Nymira pulled me to her, and she put her arm around mine.

"Let me tell you, sister, I was so sad that Adam didn't recognize his old high school friend. It hurt, so I told him he owed me a date! Of course, he was all too happy to oblige." The disguised fairy gave Sarah, and I think I heard a low snicker as well. Sarah held up a finger and turned to another customer calling for her attention, and I nudged Nymira.

Immediately, I yanked my arm away from her, but lowered my voice in the hopes that Sarah wouldn't hear. "What are you talking about?! This was your ide–"

Unfortunately, an elbow to the ribs prevented me from continuing. "Play along, idiot!" Nymira quickly put a smile back on as Sarah turned back to us with a pen and notepad.

"So, what will you two be getting?"

Nymira turned to me, but I was honestly drawing a blank. After a moment, she pulled my down low enough to whisper in my ear. "Adam! You're supposed to ask the lady what she wants!"

I narrowed my gaze at her and whispered back. "How am I supposed to know that?"

"Ugh, this is gonna be a tough job. Just ask."

She let me go, and I just kind of rubbed the back of my neck. "Uh… so… what do you want?"

The fairy set her chin in her hand and propped her elbow in her other hand. "Hm… give me a caramel latte with whipped cream. A small order of biscuits, too."

The sound of pen scribbling on paper made me realize just how quiet this place actually was before nine in the morning. Sarah then turned to me with one brow raised. "Same as always."

I just gave her a nod. "Same as always. Thank you."

Sarah nodded back and took the sheet was writing on off the pad. She then handed it to one of the guys behind her before working on what I assumed was my order, considering she didn't write mine down.

Nymira leaned close to me, lowering her voice to a whisper again. "I gotta admit, Sarah here is most definitely a candidate I considered. You two would be a great match, hoo boy."

Now it was my turn to elbow her. "Sarah's a friend, nothing more. Other people have already made that suggestion, and I told them the same thing I just told you."

She simply sighed. "How do you expect me to hook you up with someone if you don't cooperate?"

"How do you expect me to cooperate with you trying to hook me up with someone I'm not interested in?"

She gave a loud "Ugh" and turned away from me, crossing her arms. "You're lucky I'm patient or I'd drop you right now. You really need to learn, though, or every date you go on will be a disaster."

"Nice to know you have so much faith in him." This time both my and Nymira's faces went red as Sarah approached us with my coffee. Not long after, the employee she had given Nymira's order to tapped her shoulder, handing her a small plate. With a smile, she set the tray holding Nymira's order in front of us.

The fairy carefully picked it up, and not so carefully grabbed my arm in her other hand. She pulled me to one of the booths near the windows, tossed me in the seat, and sat down across from me.

We sat there in complete silence for what felt like hours, though it was probably just a minute or two at most. Nymira then furrowed her brow and looked up at me.

"What are you doing? This is a date! You need to _talk _to your date!"

As much as I wanted to say something, words had become a rare commodity in my mind, so instead I just sat there with my mouth open. In the hopes of not looking as stupid, I took a few sips from my coffee cup. Of course, watching Nymira slap her forehead told me my efforts were in vain.

"Look Adam, I know this shit isn't easy, but at least try to work with me. What do you even know besides fighting monsters? Do you have any hobbies that I don't already know about?"

She took one of the biscuits on the small saucer and tossed it in her mouth, which I took as her telling me to answer. "I guess? You already figured out that I like playing video games and working out." After a quick pause, I chuckled a little. "That is a weird sentence, if you think about it."

Nymira began giggling as well, taking a sip of her coffee when she calmed down. "It really is. See, you can be funny. We both know you're awkward as hell, but don't think about how afraid you are or how weird it is when you talk to girls. Focus on your strengths. You're a doof, but you're not a complete doof."

I rolled my eyes and narrowed my gaze at her. "Gee, thanks. I feel _so _much better now."

She, in turn, narrowed her gaze at me. "Leave the sarcasm to me, champ. Look, just start by asking me something. Anything you want to know? But make sure it's not just to me, but about me. Girls like to see that you want to know them."

"If you say so." My only reaction was to shrug. Nymira was a woman, and I wasn't, and while she also was apparently some magical love fairy, chances were she still knew more about females than I did.

"So… where are you from? Any place I would actually know?"

She slowly shook her head and munched on another biscuit. "All fairies are from Sky Garden. I doubt you've ever heard of it; it's not exactly common knowledge among humans. What about you?"

That one caught me off guard. I honestly wasn't expecting her to ask me about myself as well. "I'm from Georgia. Savannah, specifically."

As soon as I said that, Nymira began to nod. "So that's where that accent of yours comes from. I knew you sounded more like a southerner."

"How would you even know that?"

The fairy closed one eye, pointing at me. "I've had a lot of… I guess I could call them clients? Would clients work even if they don't pay me? Anyway, yeah, I've helped out people from all over the world, so I've learned a thing or two."

"Uh huh. So, what do I do now?"

Again with the forehead slapping. "If a question dead ends like that, ask something else. Make conversation is, without a doubt, the best way to build a relationship with someone. This applies to any kind of interaction as well, not just dates."

Nymira began swirling her coffee around in her cup before grabbing the last biscuit. "To be fair, though, you derailed this train by asking what to do next."

The only thing I could do was sigh. "Well… you already asked me. Do you have any hobbies, or do you immediately move on to another person once you're done 'helping' another?"

She covered her mouth with her hand, doing some kind of vertical flapping with her other. "I do, actually. I may not look it, but I'm way into art. Not only that, but exploration. Hell, while you were off hunting or whatever, I may or may not have taken a walk around the beach."

After rubbing the back of my neck, I nodded a little. "This around the time of year the beach starts getting really nice. I'd also recommend the park a few blocks down the road from here as well if you like taking walks."

Nymira leaned forward, setting her elbows on the table so she could rest her chin in her hands. "See, that was good. You not only gave me a quick response, but you sounded confident and genuinely interested in what you were saying. What makes doing that all the time so difficult?"

Yet again, I simply sighed. "I don't know. The only thing I can think of is that… I'm so afraid of looking dumb that I spend more time thinking of what _not_ to do. Like this morning, when you came up to me, I tried not to look at your because I didn't want you to think I was creeping."

Nymira shook her head again. "You need to change the way you think. I'll say it again: focus on your strengths. I can already tell that you're the kind of person who can talk for ages about something they know. In fact, I can prove it."

I raised my brow at her and crossed my arms. "Is that so?"

"It is so. Do something for me, Adam. Tell me all about Hunters and what it is you do. Every detail you can think of."

Again I was caught off guard. "Uh… really? It's kind of complicated."

She simply shrugged. "I'm not dumb, you know. Just start talking."

After another sigh, I gave her a nod. "Basically, there are two worlds: Keios and Teios. Keios is the world we're in right now, i.e. the human world. Teios is the world of monsters. Scattered around both worlds are small links where they both meet, which we call 'Walls'. If monsters get too close, they can wander through these Walls and come into our world, but for reasons people are still researching, humans can only enter through the epicenter of the Walls."

As I spoke, I noticed Nymira seemed intently focused on me. I don't think I saw her blink until I paused. Once she nodded, I took that as an indicator to continue.

"We build 'Lodges' around these epicenters, and the Lodge workers are in charge of preparing a Hunter's gear and giving them their contracts. Hunters can go to the Lodges of their own volition, but also those working at a Lodge can call one or more Hunters if they feel there's danger in Teios."

I paused again and waited, but this time she spoke. "Sounds neat, honestly. Go on."

Before speaking, I took a few sips of my coffee. "Once a contract is taken, it's a Hunter's job to go through the Wall and either capture or slay the monster or monsters in question. We've also managed to control where these walls take us with a process we call 'Honing'. A Wall that hasn't been Honed could take you to a random location in Teios, but a Honed Wall can be configured to take you to certain destinations. I'm no' sure how it works, myself."

I stopped for a third time to finish my drink and rubbed the back of my neck. "That's about it."

A smile formed on Nymira's lips as she winked at me. "See, you do have the communication skills when the subject is something you know about. You maintained eye contact, you didn't stutter at all, and you were even polite enough to stop and make sure I was following."

She saw me opening my mouth, but started wagging her finger before I could speak. "I know what you're going to say, and I get that it's hard to talk like that in all situations. Think about this, though: the fact that you can do it at all means you're _capable _of doing it in all situations."

"Yeah…." My tone was so flat you could've balanced an egg on it. "I know, I know, it's all a matter of how I think. I've heard it all before." I took a glance at my phone, standing up when I saw the time. "Look, Nymira, I need to go. I've still got time, but I don't want to push it and end up being late."

As I stood, so did the fairy. She followed me to the counter, but didn't say a word. Even after I had paid and was walking through the door, she maintained her silence and walked behind me. With every passing moment, I began shaking a little more and even ended up biting my lip after a time. Eventually Nymira put off another blinding light, and reverted back to her fairy appearance.

"I'm going with you, regardless. First off, you don't just leave a date like that. Second off, it's my job to help you find a date, and I'll be damned if I leave you alone before I succeed. I'll turn you into a social butterfly, and then into a babe magnet. Wait and see."

I just rolled my eyes and kept walking. "What are people going to think when they see you?"

She giggled and picked up her pace, floating alongside me. "Oh, I've hidden myself from everyone but you. They can't see or hear me, which lets me give you advice whenever you need it."

"Great. I've always wanted my imaginary friends to come to life." The sarcasm was so thick you could've cut it with a knife. Judging by her laugh, however, Nymira thought it was funny.

The fitness center was just a block or two away, but it was one of the buildings on the right side of the road, putting it right against the shore. Quite a bit of the silver building was glass, and many people could be seen on the various machines inside. I chuckled a little when I saw the sign next to the front door. A bipedal bulldog had its arms crossed, and next to it were the words "Walker's Gym". I always thought the sign was cool.

After walking in, I scanned the first room until I spotted a tall, mustached man with a whistle around his neck and arms and legs as thick as tree trunks. He was talking to a girl I'd never seen before. Long, dark hair, blue eyes, tan skin. Looking at her brought the same feeling that I had felt when Nymira first approached me, and I was only brought back to reality after hearing a whistle from the fairy herself.

"Well, well, well, hottie alert. How did this one slip under my finely tuned radar? And damn, I would kill to have boobs like hers any day."

It was near impossible to resist slapping my own forehead, but I managed someone. As I approached the man, he looked up and pointed at me, and the woman he was talking to turned as well.

I waved to them both, but strongly hoped we would be introduced without me having to initiate. "Hey, Simon. I know you said you wanted to talk to me about something, so I'm sorry if I'm late."

Simon let out a hardy laugh that echoed through the fitness center. "You're never late, champ. In fact, you're right on time." My instructor gave the woman a pat on the back. "You've been doing extremely well here, Adam, so I thought you might like to try a bit of instructing yourself. I already went ahead and talked to this young lady, and she was all too willing to sign on."

Before I could say anything, the woman held her hand out to me and flashed a bright, friendly smile. "Nice to meet you! My name's Leila, Leila Dolosa. Simon's told me a lot about you."

As I reached out to shake her hand, Nymira gave me a nudge. "Sweet! With your awkwardness, you couldn't ask for a better setup! Not only do you have me, but you also have this big guy as a crutch until you can handle Leila here on your own."

Had I not known nobody else could see her, I probably would've told Nymira to shut up. Instead, I just ignored her. "It's a p-pleasure, Leila. I'm Adam. A-Adam Delvin."

Simon put a hand on both of our shoulders and let out another laugh. "What's the matter, bud? You nervous. Don't worry, I'm here to help. And you don't need to ask; I know being a Hunter means you get called away completely at random. Leila and I already have a plan for when that happens."

I chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of my head. "That's good to hear…. I'm sorry you had to make extra arrangements, though."

The big man shook his head and released both me and Leila. "Don't be. You gotta do what you gotta do, and what you gotta do is hunt monsters. Anyway, I've got to get going and help out another member who really doesn't know what he's doing. I'll see you two later."

We both waved at him as he walked away, but only Leila spoke up. "Goodbye, Simon, and thank you!" Once he was gone, she faced me and clapped a little. "Adam, I can't thank you enough for helping me. My workout routine fell apart for a while, but now that my son has start school, I can get it back on track!"

All I did was nod as I tried to think of a suitable response. Suddenly I felt another tap on my shoulder and looked over at the fairy who was right in my face. "Did she say son? Oh man, looks like we got a baby mama. That could be good for you, actually. I'd bet you anything she's looking for a nice guy to help her with the drama of having a kid. Come on, champ, you can do this."

This time I really did want to respond, but Leila quickly grabbed my attention again. "So… I already discussed the routine I wanted to start with Simon, but he said there were preparations I had to go through?"

After clearing my throat, I nodded at her. "Y-Yeah. If you've not been exercising regularly for a while, you can't just jump back into your old system. Start small and slow, easing your body back into the way you used to do things. As with any physical activity, I strongly advise you do stretches first, and then maybe some time on one of the treadmills to get you ready."

She nodded back at me and looked around at the room. "That sounds good to me. I've already done my stretches with Simon, and you came in right as we finished, so I think we're good to go."

A small mumble escaped me, but beyond that I just turned and nodded. There weren't many treadmills being used, so I lead Leila to the one closest to us. There were various buttons and a large screen on the front of it, but luckily we didn't need to worry about them at the moment. I did draw her attention to them, though.

"See all these? You can use the buttons to customize the elliptical and emulate different environments. However, there's a low, medium, and high setting that kind of automatically combines different settings, and I'd suggest we start with that. You said you've worked out before, so go ahead and try medium. I'll write down some results after a while, and we'll go from there."

"Sounds great to me. You really sound like you know what you're doing." Leila chuckled to herself as she pressed the button to begin her walk. Her comment left me with a bright red face that I had to turn away from her in order to hide.

Of course, I got a face full of fairy once I did. "You're doing great! Yeah, you've stuttered a few times, but you're talking to her! And did you hear what she said? You do sound like you know what you're talking about. This is good, this is good. Now, remember what I said. Ask her something about herself to break the ice."

After a quick shake of my head and a quiet groan, I turned back to Leila and froze. To be honest, I was terrified of asking her anything, so I decided to go for something she already told me.

"So… you mentioned having a son?"

Leila bobbed her head up and down, picking up her pace a tad. "I do! Mateo's three now, so I've got him starting preschool. You've got to get that early start, you know?"

I chuckled a little. Honestly, I wanted to see Nymira's face to my response. "That's true. I took care of baby, once. Not a human, but teaching was still important. I've watched my younger cousin's before, too. I… I-I'd like to think I'm good with kids, I guess."

Leila raised her brows and her eyes widened a little. "Oh, do you mean like, a puppy or something along those lines?"

"Uh…." After scratching the back of my head, I rubbed my rather hairy chin and tried to laugh. "Not exactly, but… that's another story for another day."

The woman started laughing as well, running a hand through her long, gorgeous hair. "That's alright. I'm sure you've got all kinds of crazy stories, being a Hunter and all."

With a nod, I looked over and checked the numbers her machine was showing. "You're doing really well, Leila. I think you'll like it here."

"You think so? I enjoy working out as a way to relax, and believe me, with Mateo and my job, stress can really build up."

This time I was in full agreement with her and found laughing along with Leila much easier. "I hear that. What is it you do, if you don't mind me asking?"

As I looked over, Nymira's jaw looked like it was about to hit the floor. However, when she saw me, she gave me a thumbs up and a wide grin. The fairy then motioned towards Leila so I would look back at her.

"Did you hear me? You look like you're lost."

I jumped a little when she said that, and was forced to shake my head. "Sorry, I do have just a little on my mind. What did you say?"

Leila slowly shook her head with a smile. "No problem, it happens to all of us. I work at the Surf n' Sand not too far from here. I'm usually in charge of the clothing department, but sometimes they ask me to work one of the registers."

I opened my mouth, but a loud buzzing and a loud, quick beeping noises blared from my phone. My eyes widened as I took it out and saw the word "BREACH" where the caller I.D. would be. Biting my lip, I looked up at Leila.

"I'm really sorry, but I need to go. I-I-I think you're good now… m-maybe go see Simon?"

By now I was slightly panicked as I looked around. Leila turned off the treadmill, stepping down and looking at my phone. "Is everything okay?"

All I could do was shake my head. "A monster has made its way to this world. I need to go and take care of it before it hurts someone."

A loud screech interrupted me, and various screams from outside prevented me from continuing. I looked out of one of the windows to see beachgoers running from a massive, yellowish raptor. Its coloring, size, and the purple sac under its jaw immediately told me that this was a Great Wroggi.

I turned to Leila, but also started making my way to the door. "I have to go now! That thing can spit poison, and if anyone gets caught in its toxic clouds, it will be very bad news."

Her upturned brows and frantic pacing made me think Leila was now panicking too, which was the exact opposite of what I wanted. "Is there anything I can do?"

"There is, actually. Tell anyone you can to get out of here and find a safe place, but do not get near that thing."

She nodded quickly and started gathering everyone who wasn't already clamored around the window. Once I left, my only option for fighting was the carving knife I always had with me. That is, until I remembered my friend.

"Nymira, I'm skilled, but I'm not that skilled. I can't take this thing on with just my knife. Please, can you hurry and bring me my sword? You know where it is."

Without hesitation, the fairy nodded and took off. As she flew, I ran out to the beach, grabbed a seashell someone must have dropped, and threw it as hard as I could at the Wroggi. "Hey! Over here, come pick on someone with a slightly better size ratio." Okay… I admit, that was a lame thing to say. However, it did get the beast's attention, which is what I wanted.

As it turned, the shell smacked it right between the eyes. It let out a loud screech and charged right at me. Just knowing it was fixated on me now as opposed to some innocent civilian made me able to relax a bit more. When it came to dealing with the Wroggi, my main concern was the poison sac on its neck. As long as it could still create poison, it was an even bigger threat to the area than a regular Jaggi would've been.

As for dealing with it, all I could really do was move around and avoid it whenever the Wroggi tried to hit me, and take a stab or two when it left itself open. Staying in front of it was a bad idea, but I did try to slide by and attack in the hopes of cutting out, or at least damaging the poison sac. Eventually I did manage to stab it once, but was forced to jump away before the monster spun around to smack me with its tail.

Unfortunately for me, Wroggis are smarter than your average bear. Right after it spun, it flew around in the opposite direction and slammed in in the shoulder with its tail. The hit sent me flying into some poor child's sand castle, and I would have felt terrible were I not distracted. Before I could get up, the Wroggi jumped on me, and I was forced to roll side to side between its legs to keep it from chomping my head off.

After one of its dives, I did the most honorable thing in the history of combat; I threw sand in its eyes. The creature raised its head and screeched again, giving me the opportunity to stab its poison sac and cut it open. Luckily for me, it wasn't readying up a poison cloud, or I'd have gotten a face full of the stuff. With the monster now blinded and in extreme pain, it was easy to kick it off of me.

Now that it was on the ground, I took the opportunity to jump on it and sink my knife into its back and sides as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the Wroggi managed to throw me off when it got up, and from its posture I could tell it was going to pounce on me again. I saw it jump, but an impact never came. Instead, a blur of brown slammed into the Wroggi's chest, knocking it on the ground. The blur turned out to be the wood of my sword's sheath, but the blade was missing.

However, a tap on my shoulder caught my attention, and the blade was shoved into my hands by a panting, red-faced fairy as I turned around. "This thing… is heavy," she said between huffs.

Were the situation different, I probably would have laughed, but with the sounds of a tired Wroggi running towards me, I didn't have time for comedy. I waited just long enough for it to get close, then spun around to deliver a nice cut across its left shoulder and chest. Evidently, it still wasn't enough to stop the monster from head-butting me; clearly monsters retained their toughness even in Keios.

As hard as the head-butt hit, it wasn't enough to knock me over, which made me able to swing at the creature again. This time the blade was buried deep in the Wroggi's neck, ending its life. Even weaker monster like the Great Jaggi and its cousin had to be worn down before their hide could be pierced, but this one had finally reached its limit. I, myself, was a little winded as well, having to lean on my sword to keep from falling over.

I swayed against my sword and tried not to fall. Nymira had taken on her human disguise again, but I think I heard at _least _four different voices call my name. With a loud huff, I felt myself falling forward, but was suddenly propped up again with the help of Nymira and Wes, both of whom had one of my arms over their shoulders.

"Sorry I'm late, man. I wanted to grab my bowgun but it looks like I was just a little late." I could see the big guy scratching the back of his head, as he often did when he was embarrassed.

Not only was Wes now here, but I could see Sarah, Simon, and Leila now making their way towards me too. They must have been the ones calling my name. Now all five of them were simultaneously attempting to ask if I was okay, but there was honestly only one thing I cared about. Everyone fell silent as I turned my gaze towards Leila and opened my mouth.

"Leila, nobody else got hurt, right?"

She slowly nodded in response, and I saw Sarah walk past me with her phone out. "Thank goodness the Great Wroggi didn't poison anyone…."

Wes and Nymira let go of me after I stood up straight, and Wes turned to Sarah at almost the exact same time I did. "Sarah, how do you know what this thing is?" he asked.

Our friend jumped a little, shoved her phone in her pocket, and spun back around to face us with the straightest face I'd ever seen. "Well, I remember Adam loaning me a book on monsters once, because I was curious about what you guys actually did. The Great Wroggi was like, one of the first entries in it. I read a few others, but they got progressively scarier so I just gave it back."

After a scratch of my chin, I nodded to her. "Oh yeah, I do remember that. It was a while ago, though. I'm surprised you remembered, to be perfectly honest." Turning around, I picked up my sword along with its sheath and slid the blade back into it.

Sarah just shrugged. "I usually retain information very well if I'm interested in the subject, and I do find these monsters interesting."

I shrugged right back at her, looking up at Wes. "Are we gonna take anything or just wait for it to dissolve?"

Nymira and Leila both raised their brows when I said that, but Leila spoke first. "Dissolve? What's that supposed to mean?"

I opened my mouth, but Wes managed to beat me to the answer. "For some reason, the monsters we fight don't leave corpses behind unless killed by another monster. After a while they just kinda… fade away. We're not sure why; a lot of things in our line of work are still a mystery."

As he spoke, I reached up and patted his shoulder. "One day everything will be figured out. I know it."

Sarah clapped her hands together before running one through her hair. "I can't wait for that day to come. It will be so neat!"

We all turned as Simon's signature laugh echoed through the air. The old man had his arms crossed, his eyes closed, and the biggest smile I'd ever seen. "Stuff like this is why I put you in charge of Leila's fitness training. Anyone fit enough to take down monsters has gotta be doing something right!"

Once he said that, I started laughing along with him and pointed his way. "Hey, let's not forget the guy who helped me get this way."

The old man gave me a strong pat on the back that was more like a smack, and it sent me tumbling down into the sand again. "Adam down." Luckily, I was able to lift myself up without help, though I did see at least three of the others stooping down to try.

After standing and brushing the sand off of my clothes, I turned to the dead Wroggi and then to my friends. "So… who wants to get back to their regularly scheduled day?"


End file.
